


Penny for Your Thoughts

by casuallyimagining



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2019-03-14 12:14:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13589856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/casuallyimagining/pseuds/casuallyimagining
Summary: Marnie has been bugging Shane to at least attempt to be nice to the woman who moved into the farm next door. That's the only reason why he's talking to her. Right?





	Penny for Your Thoughts

The Stardrop Saloon was strangely quiet for a Friday night. Normally, at around this time, the kids would be over in the game corner, racking up game after game of pool.  _Kids_. Shane thought bitterly, staring deeply into the last two or three swallows of his second—or was it his third?—beer.  _Those kids are closer to your age than you are to Marnie’s._  Somehow, that didn’t make him feel better. 

Sam was around 21, with a bright future and a college education ahead of him. Abigail was a little older than Sam and had already tried the college thing and found out she hated it. But she helped Pierre at his store, and seemed truly connected with and happy to be in Pelican Town in a way that Shane couldn’t even fathom. It made him want to vomit.

And then, there was Sebastian. Cool, mysterious Sebastian with his imperfect-on-purpose haircut and the confidence of being one of the most successful people in town. He was a self-taught programmer. Rumor had it that he was pulling in thousands of dollars a month. Shane wondered briefly what his 23-year-old self would have done with thousands of dollars every month.

He snorted derisively, downing the rest of his beer in one go. He knew what his younger self would have done with the money. It looked a lot like what his nearly 29-year-old self was doing now. Only, maybe… maybe he never would have made it to this godforsaken town.

He was just about to stand to order another beer when a tall glass was placed down in front of him and a young woman slid into the chair across from him. He glanced down at the drink she had brought him. It was darker, and had significantly more foam than his last one. Root beer, he suspected.

“Penny for your thoughts?” she asked quietly.

Her eyes studied his face, but what she was looking for, Shane had no idea. Surprisingly, he didn’t shrink back from her gaze. Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was the fact that ever since that night at the lake, he didn’t feel antagonized by her presence.

He remained silent, spinning the frosted mug she had sat in front of him idly. His mind was blank. Even the nagging thoughts that seemed to constantly plague him had dried up, and his thoughts felt dried up and cottony, like how a mouth feels shortly after having its wisdom teeth removed.

“You good?”

It took him a moment to realize she was asking if he was okay, but again, he stayed silent. He wanted to nod, or at least to look up and tell her to fuck off. But he couldn’t. She had been kind to him once, and now, it seemed he was unable to function in her presence. Three hours of treating him like a normal human being, and he became the equivalent of a brick wall in front of her. Not just a brick wall, but a  _stupid_  brick wall. A stupid brick wall that hated himself, and almost hated her, too, for thinking anything other than disgust when she was around him.

He watched as she nodded gently, taking a sip from a glass that matched the one she had placed in front of him what felt like years ago now. He hated that she never seemed to judge him. After all the terrible, shitty things he had said to her, she came back to him, and he hated her for it. Talking to him, being seen here with him… it was sure to ruin her reputation among the other residents of Pelican Town. But if she knew, she didn’t seem to care.

And he couldn’t hate her. He  _knew_  that. But if it wasn’t hate, then what was this feeling pooling in his stomach every time she gave him even the slightest glance?

“I just wanted to say that I know you’re having a rough time of it, and I know this is probably the last thing you want to hear right now, but…” she trailed off, her eyes not moving from his, but her fingers playing with the handle of the glass. She was nervous. “If you need anyone to, y’know, talk to—about anything—I’m here. Even if you just want a distraction. Even if you just need someone to yell at.” Then, her eyes crinkled shut and she grinned, she actually  _grinned_ , at him.

His stomach both sank and soared in that moment. Seeing her sitting there, a wide, joyous grin on her face, knowing that grin was for  _him_ … No one had smiled at him like that for a very long time.

Then, as quick as she had sat down, she was up again, an empty glass in her hand. “I should go,” she mumbled, and for the first time, he noticed a glint in her eye. Was that sadness? Disappointment? “I’ll see you around, Shane.”

She was gone before he even had the chance to respond. He heard the bell above the door ding sharply, signaling her exit from the bar entirely.

 _Of course_  he fucked it up.

Why was he like this? Marnie was always on his ass about making friends, and here was someone completely unconcerned about his reputation throughout Pelican Town, and she was really, really trying to wiggle her way into his good graces. As if she thought that waving to him when she saw him on his way to work every day would make him open up. As if the small smiles and soft pleasantries she attempted to share with him when she visited the ranch on weekends would be enough to melt his ice block of a heart. As if simply being nice to him would make him forget that he was a stupid piece of shit who drank too much and was perhaps a bit too rude to his new neighbor.

Shane was halfway out the door before he even noticed he had moved. His heart beat a steady rhythm in his ears, and when he saw that she was still out there, stopped to tie her shoe or  _something_  and she was still lingering outside of the bar, he could have sworn she could hear the quickening thuds in his chest.

“Hey,” he called out in a moment of fearlessness.

When she looked up expectantly, he realized he had no idea what to say next. But then, in that easy way of hers, she approached him, and made eye contact. “How strong are you?” The question seemed to come from out of left field, and he shrugged, unsure of what she wanted him to say. “I mean, you stock shelves at Joja, right?” Again, he shrugged.

She laughed nervously, and in that moment, Shane didn’t think he ever wanted her to stop. “I probably sound like a weirdo, right? I’m sorry. I just… there are some stumps on the farm that have been giving me some problems, and I could use some help.” He could hear his heart beating a harsh rhythm in his ears. She had to hear it too, right? If she did, she made no indication before continuing. “Could you…? I mean, if you have the time? I’m sure your weekends are precious. But I can pay you, and I’ll make you lunch, and dinner if you’re still around. And I-“

“I’m free tomorrow.” He hated the way he said it. Like he was desperate. Like he had absolutely nothing to do. He didn’t, but she didn’t need to  _know_  that.

But then there was that grin again, and her hand was on his upper arm, and he was sure she could feel his heartbeat now, through the threadbare sleeve of his JojaMart jacket, but she just continued to smile. “Thanks so, so much. I’m usually up at six, but don’t feel like you have to come super early. You have no idea how much I appreciate this.”

And then, with one last smile, she was gone. Walking the road back to the farm. A part of him noticed she would walk straight past the ranch. If he was a smarter man, he could hurry to catch up with her and walk her home. But he stayed rooted to the spot on the cobblestone path outside of the Stardrop Saloon. He didn’t trust his brain with any more time with her tonight. So he contented himself with watching her walk down the dark, wooded road and hoped that tomorrow, he could pull himself together to have a normal fucking conversation with her for once.

His arm still burned from the warmth of her touch.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I'm not quite sure if I want to continue this or not. Leave a comment letting me know if you'd be interested in a part two (or more) of this and I'll try to make it happen. In the meantime, thanks for reading!


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